Race Day Live California is looking for ways to improve how it recovers from natural disasters like wildfires, especially when it comes to rebuilding homes.
Assembly Bill 239, introduced by Assemblymember John Harabedian, a Democrat from Pasadena, aims to make housing recovery quicker and more coordinated after disasters like the Palisades and Eaton Fires.
This bill is inspired by a plan used in Texas to speed up recovery after hurricanes.
Harabedian believes that one reason recovery efforts can take so long is the lack of communication between government agencies.
“I think that government agencies generally don’t do a good job of talking to each other,” Harabedian said.
“There isn’t a ton of coordination on these types of things, because natural disasters, thankfully, don’t happen all that often.”
The idea of having a state-led task force to speed up recovery first came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
The disaster showed how slow recovery efforts can be, even six years after the hurricane. In 2019, Texas took this idea and created a task force to help coordinate recovery after Hurricane Harvey, which caused massive damage, costing over $125 billion.
Harabedian’s bill proposes something similar: a task force made up of officials from FEMA, state agencies, and local governments, all working together to rebuild homes and communities more efficiently.
The proposed task force would have a leader, a state disaster housing coordinator, who would make sure that money is distributed quickly and that all levels of government are working together.
This group would also report on the progress of rebuilding efforts every three months to the California Legislature.
“We need to have someone coordinating the response,” said Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, who co-authored the bill.
“The state and federal governments have a larger responsibility to oversee recovery efforts that go beyond individual communities.”
While the plan in Texas has faced some controversy, such as allegations of mishandling funds for flood mitigation, it has still helped improve how different government levels work together to rebuild after disasters.
Michelle Annette Meyer, who helped create the Texas law, says the law has had a positive impact, especially in terms of planning for disasters before they happen. However, this part is not included in California’s bill.
The bill is expected to be discussed in a committee hearing in February. So far, at least one group, the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership, supports the bill.
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Luis Portillo, president of the group, thinks the bill is important because it holds the government accountable for rebuilding homes, especially for communities like Black homeowners in Altadena, where the rate of homeownership is much higher than the state average.
Portillo said, “People can’t be waiting … five or eight years for their house to be rebuilt. Eventually, they’ll give up and move somewhere else.”
Local officials in Los Angeles County haven’t responded yet to how they feel about the task force idea. However, there is already a housing task force in place for wildfire recovery, led by the Los Angeles County Development Authority.
This task force provides information about federal aid and other local resources for those affected by the fires.
Harabedian said that his bill is not meant to replace the local efforts but to add to them. “What we need is a quarterback,” he explained.
“The key is appointing someone at the state level who can coordinate with FEMA and local agencies.”
The bill is still under discussion, and the sunset date for the task force is yet to be decided. If passed, it could be a major step in improving how California handles disaster recovery and ensures that homes are rebuilt faster after a crisis.
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